Warriors: FireClan's Destiny
by xXShadyXx
Summary: Two warriors from the four clans are chosen to go on a quest to find the long lost FireClan. When they find it, they realize it's not saving it that matters, it's about the power of friendship from another Clan.
1. Chapter 1

FireClan

Leader:

Redstar- reddish tom with amber eyes

Deputy:

Nighttrance- black she-cat with yellow eyes

Medicine cat:

Leafflight- ginger she-cat with yellow eyes

Apprentice- Grasspaw

Warriors:

Mousepelt- brown she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice- Mistypaw

Larksong- black tom with green eyes

Apprentice- Emberpaw

Moonflower- grey she-cat with white tail tip and yellow eyes

Skyfur- bluish greyish tom with white spots and yellow eyes

Apprentice- Frostpaw

Barknose- brown tom with amber eyes

Pearlclaw- white she cat with blue eyes

Apprentice- Poppypaw

Bramblepelt- brown tom with amber eyes

Firefrost- orange she-cat with white paws

Ashnose- black tom with green eyes

Sharpstorm- grey tom with yellow eyes

Icewing-white she-cat

Apprentices:

Grasspaw- grey tom with brown paws

Emberpaw- black tom with green eyes

Mistypaw- grey she-cat with green eyes

Frostpaw- white she-cat with blue eyes

Poppypaw- ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Queens:

Birchnose-black she-cat with white stripes

Tulipstripe-light ginger she-cat with striped legs

Elders:

Goldenstorm-yellow tom with hearing problems

Dapplestream- grey she-cat with lighter splotches

Lightpelt- ginger she-cat

Mudblaze-brown tom with white chest fur

Warriors: The Chosen One

by: Serena Wang

The little black kitten opened his eyes sleepily and looked around his surroundings. Mews of excitement sounded above him. Beside him was a grey kit.

"Birchnose! You're okay, right?"

"Of course I am," the black and white cat replied. "My new kits will grow up strong and healthy, I know it. Don't worry, Moonflower."

Redstar padded over. "I know they will, Birchnose."

Ashnose licked his son. "What shall we name them?"

"Emberkit, and Mistykit." Birchnose replied at once.

"What wonderful names," Redstar meowed. "May StarClan grant them a good life."

"Thank you, Redstar."

Chapter 1

Emberkit batted at his sister, Mistykit's tail. She pounced on him playfully and they rolled around in the FireClan nursery. Emberkit kicked her lightly with his hind legs.

"Alright, kits, time for some food," Birchnose said, dropping a chaffinch for the two siblings to share.

"Thanks, Birchnose!" They synchronized. They bit down onto the prey. After they had eaten their share, their mother insisted that they go to sleep.

6 Moons Later

Redstar bounded up to the Rock Ledge, and yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Rock Ledge for a Clan meeting."

Once all the cats were gathered, Redstar said, "Today we will apprentice two kits of Birchnose."

Emberkit and Mistykit's eyes grew wide. Birchnose nudged them gently, and they padded up toward the Rock Ledge. "Emberkit, you will now be known as Emberpaw. Larksong, you have learned well. I trust you to pass on those skills to Emberpaw."

The black cats both stepped forward and touched noses. "Mistykit, you will now be known as Mistypaw. Mousepelt, you have learned well. I trust you to pass on those skills to Mistypaw." The two cats stepped forward and touched noses too.

"Emberpaw! Mistypaw! Emberpaw! Mistypaw!" The cats chanted their names.

The next sunrise, the two apprentices woke up in the apprentices den. "Time for training," Mousepelt mewed. Larksong was waiting at the entrance.

"Coming, Larksong!" Emberpaw said.

They went hunting together. Larksong showed him the hunters' crouch. Suddenly a squirrel darted by. Emberpaw took off the way his mentor had shown him, yowling loudly.

Larksong watched proudly as his apprentice bit down hard onto the squirrel's neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a vole. He dropped into a low crouch, and suddenly a silver cat leapt out of the bushes in front of him, and her claws dug into the squirrel. He recognized her as Moonflower.

"I'm on a hunting patrol," she explained. She pointed her tail to the other cats, Bramblepelt and Firefrost. Then she darted away.

Larksong never really liked Moonflower, and he gritted his teeth and flexed his claws.

"Larksong? Look, I caught a squirrel," a voice said behind him. It was Emberpaw. Larksong turned around.

"That's wonderful. See if you can catch more."

Emberpaw looked satisfied with the compliments, and darted off. Mousepelt turned to him. "They're doing so well, don't you think?"

Larksong nodded.

The cats returned at sundown, with a chaffinch, vole, squirrel, and a mouse. Suddenly a cat- Larksong recognized her as Pearlclaw, rushed in, Barknose and Ashnose following her with horror-struck eyes. Redstar saw them, and instantly mewed, "What's wrong? Come in my den."

The 4 cats disappeared under the Rock Ledge. Soon after, while Emberpaw, Mistypaw, Mousepelt and Larksong were eating the prey that they caught, Redstar bounded up to the Rock Ledge. He yowled the normal sayings, and soon the whole camp were gathered around him. "Pearlclaw, Barknose, and Ashnose have claimed to have seen a monster, one bigger than normal. Pearlclaw, tell them."

"Well, it was yellow, and very very smelly. It had a huge curved mouth with no cover. It was digging up dirt and putting it in the nest behind it, and.." she shivered and couldn't say anymore.

Ashnose took her place. "It was uprooting the trees! And Twolegs were in it's belly. It was a few fox-lengths from the Owl Oak, maybe 12 or so."

"It was really loud!" Barknose remarked. "It's coming closer, we think."

"Nighttrance, Firefrost, and Icewing, all of you go to the Owl Oak and see how much damage is done tomorrow. Report to me about it. We may have to move."

"Move?" Tulipstripe yowled. "The elders won't be able to make it! And my kits are coming, and even if they are born before we move, they will not be able to make the trip."

"We will have other cats carry them," Redstar reassured her. "If we lose too much prey and water and land, we will have to go. The Clan may be dismissed."

Emberpaw felt worried. He turned to Larksong. "What will happen now?"

Larksong closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's up to the leader and deputy to decide." Mousepelt looked worried too.

That night, Emberpaw fell asleep right away. He opened his eyes to find he was not in the apprentice's den, but in an unexplored part of the forest. "Where am I? Birchnose! Larksong! Mistypaw!" He called. But then a tortoise-shell she-cat appeared in the shadows. She padded out, making herself seen.

"Relax, Emberpaw. You will find your way out. But I would like to tell you something."

"What?"

"My name is Fawnseeker. I was the former leader of FireClan. Have you heard of the other four clans?"

"ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan?"

She nodded. "Correct. One cat from ThunderClan and one cat from RiverClan will come and help your Clan survive."

"What about WindClan and ShadowClan?"

"The prophecy doesn't include them."

"What prophecy?"

"Thunder and River

Will come to Fire

And release them

from the Dark Forest's

grasp."

"That's it?"

She nodded. "But that's not the point. You see, Leafflight? A very long time ago, when she was just a kit, StarClan came to her and spoke to her. She didn't tell me until she was a warrior. Now, it's time for you to return to the real world."


	2. Chapter 2

Stormfur opened his eyes and blinked in the strong sunshine. It was new-leaf, and prey was beginning to come back. "Hello, Stormfur," Hawkfrost mewed beside him.

"Good morning, Hawkfrost," he meowed back. He stood up, trying to shake off the dream that had attacked him.

"_Thunder and River wll come to Fire, and release it from the Dark Forest's grasp."_

Why would some cat go to fire and... what? Release it from the Dark Forest's grasp? Huh?

He had been in some kind of forest, one with unfamiliar scents and sights, and a tortoiseshell she-cat appeared.

"Hello? C'mon, we're on border patrol, y'know," Blackclaw said on his left.

"Yeah, c'mon, Stormfur, wake up," Swallowtail added.

"Sorry. Let's go."

They padded towards the RiverClan border closest to ShadowClan, and made their markers. A vole darted in front of Swallowtail, and she couldn't resist but chase it, and didn't notice that she was in ShadowClan territory, until she bit down hard into it's neck, and behind her, a cat mewed, "And just what do you think you are doing, hunting on ShadowClan territory?"

Swallowtail turned around. It was Cedarheart. Her eyes grew wide. "I-uh..I was chasing it.." She sighed in defeat, and pushed the vole towards him. "I'm sorry. You can have it."

"'Sorry' catches no prey," he mewed defiantly. "Just make sure you don't cross it again."

Swallowtail nodded, and hurried back to her territory. "You mousebrain!" Blackclaw scowled. "You were lucky you weren't killed. You could've gotten in real trouble. Next time pay attention to where you are going."

"Don't talk to her like that," Stormfur hissed. "It's not her fault." Blackclaw rolled his eyes.

The cats went on, and until they had marked them all, they went back home, and to the freshkill pile to get some food.

"Tonight is a Gathering," Mistystar yowled. "These are the warriors that shall go with me: Hawkfrost, Blackclaw, Mothwing, Heavystep, Copperpaw, Duskfur, and Stormfur."

"Okay, so I'm going to the Gathering. So are you, Stormfur, but not you, Swallowtail," Blackclaw said. "You know why?"

She nodded sadly.

"Sorry, Swallowtail," Stormfur tried to comfort her. She looked up and smiled at him.

"It's alright. I can always go the next moon."

Soon the chosen cats were bunched together, Mistystar leading them. Soon they arrived. WindClan and ShadowClan were already there.

Stormfur made his way through the crowd to find Tawnypelt. "Hey, Tawnypelt!"

"Hello, Stormfur! How is your clan?" She twitched her whiskers and blinked caringly at him.

"Great! There are lots of fish in the river. How about you?"

Just then ThunderClan arrived. Sorreltail padded over. "Hello, Tawnypelt and Stormfur. How is hunting?"

"Great," they synchronized.

"Hey..um...did you guys have any strange dreams lately?" she asked uncertainly.

"No," Tawnypelt mewed.

"Erm...well...I would be lying if I said no," Stormfur stammered.

"Oh..." Sorreltail paused. "Tell me."

"Well, I was in a forest.."

Sorreltail payed close attention while Tawnypelt walked away. "And she said it was a prophecy," he finished. When he had ended, Sorreltail's eyes were as wide as an owl's. "What?"

"I had that same dream!"

Just then the leaders sounded the call for the gathering to begin. Tallstar of WindClan stepped up and mewed, "Our Clan is doing well. We have apprenticed two kits, and we now have another warrior. We are well-fed and no disturbance of Twolegs." He went back as Blackstar of ShadowClan stepped forward.

"Many of our prey is being chased into WindClan. We apologize," but he didn't sound like he really meant it.

"WindClan accepts your apology," Tallstar meowed.

"We are a little low on prey, and we have 3 new kits and 2 new warriors." He stepped back.

Mistystar padded up. "There are many fish in the river. We invite ShadowClan to catch a few fish for a quarter moon on our territory. We have more than enough."

"ShadowClan appreciates your offer, but we are doing fine," Blackstar said proudly.

"Alright. We have 3 new warriors."

Firestar padded up. "One of our warriors have been captured by Twolegs, but otherwise we are doing fine."

Yowls of defiance rose up. "Stupid Twolegs! What do they want cats for?" one mewed loudly.

The crowd fell silent as Blackstar flicked his tail.

"This Gathering is over," Firestar meowed.

Never had there been such a short Gathering. But nevertheless, the RiverClan cats walked on home. Stormfur shared the news with Swallowtail.

Back in the ThunderClan camp, Sorreltail couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking, "_Thunder and River will come to Fire, and release it from the Dark Forest's grasp."_

She got up and padded silently toward Cinderpelt's den. "Cinderpelt?" she called softly into the darkness.

"Yes?" a sleepy voice echoed. Cinderpelt walked out of the shadows.

"I...I had a dream yesterday."

"What was it about?"

"Well, a tortoiseshell cat came to me and said, "_Thunder and River will come to Fire, and release it from the Dark Forest's grasp."_

"ThunderClan and RiverClan are both Clans, but FireClan?" Cinderpelt wondered. "Hmm...it could be possible if Firestar found SkyClan.."

"So perhaps FireClan is in trouble...and a cat from RiverClan and ThunderClan will come to FireClan and help it?"

"Yes. Do you know if any other cat has had that dream?"

"Well...Stormfur from RiverClan."

"Hmm...you and Stormfur might have to go to FireClan... we'll have to wait for another sign from StarClan."

"Alright. Thanks, Cinderpelt." She padded off to the warriors den and went to sleep, feeling more comforted than she had minutes ago.


	3. Chapter 3

Emberpaw opened up his eyes sleepily.

"Make one more step, and we'll send you crying for your mommy," Larksong was saying.

His vision cleared, and he saw a fox standing in front of him. Larksong and Pearlclaw were standing beside it, hissing threats at it even though it wouldn't understand. Without thinking, Emberpaw lunged and raked his claws down the fox's throat. Larksong took this as a signal to attack, and bit down hard onto it's neck with a yowling of fury. Apprentices around him were waking up and yowling for help. He let his attention stray, and looked around, only to be scratched on the back. But the paw was soon removed as Pearlclaw leaped onto it and performed the final move: She sheathed her claws as she stood upon the fox, and unsheathed them, and the fox felt 16 claws sink into it's fur. It leaped away, howling.

"Did he hurt you?" Mistypaw asked anxiously. "Are you okay?"

"It seems it has," Pearlclaw mewed. "But it's not serious. Just get a few cobwebs from Leafflight and you'll be okay."

"I'm afraid you won't go training today," Larksong meowed. "Tommorow, alright?"

Emberpaw nodded.

Mousepelt walked in. One look at the bloody grime, and a look of anxiousness came up on her face. "What happened?"

"A fox attacked, but we took care of it," Larksong explained. He looked proudly at Emberpaw. "He helped too," he added.

Emberpaw felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. "That's nice," Mousepelt said. "Did he get hurt?"

Pearlclaw nodded. "Not serious. Why don't you take Mistypaw out for training?"

"Okay, I'm coming," Mistypaw said promptly. She bounded up, without a look at Emberpaw. Emberpaw didn't notice.

"Alright, Emberpaw, I'll take you to Leafflight," Larksong meowed firmly. He gently grabbed Emberpaw by the scruff of his neck and carried him to Leaflfight's den. As they came into her den, she looked up. She was sorting her herbs. "What's wrong?"  
>"A fox came and scratched up his back," he explained.<p>

"Then we'll need some cobwebs and marigold.." she muttered, half to herself. She walked to the pile of cobwebs, got some on her paw, and smothered it all over Emberpaw's back after checking it. "It's not deep," she mewed. Then she chewed up some marigold and put it on him too.

"Too bad I can't go apprentice training," Emberpaw mewed quietly.

"Don't worry, Emberpaw," Leafflight reassured him. "It'll be good as new tomorrow. Well, not really, but good enough."

"Okay," he meowed in approval.

Soon the cats Redstar had ordered to go out that day, Firefrost, Icewing, and Nighttrance returned. Skyfur looked very worried. "Has there been more damage by the Owl Oak?"

"No, but the monsters are still there. The mud beneath it is all churned up. I believe that is where the Clan gets burdock root," Nighttrance mewed worriedly.

Leafflight had overheard. "What?" she exclaimed. "Great. Now I need the Clan to stay away from rats." She sighed. "No." She turned her head away. "Next thing you know, those mouse-brained Twolegs will have gotten rid of all the herbs, and Mudblaze is complaining about aching joints. I'm out of daisy leaves." She shook her head in exasperation. She turned back and saw Redstar standing behind them. She dipped her head in respect. The other cats turned around and saw the Clan leader. They dipped their heads in respect, too.

"I'm very sorry about that, Leafflight. But we'll have to make do. I'll address the Clan to stay away from rats." Leafflight nodded.

The next day, Emberpaw woke up, feeling refreshed. He and Mistypaw padded out of the apprentice's den and met Larksong and Mousepelt. "Hey, Emberpaw," Mousepelt mewed. "Feeling okay?"

He nodded. The four cats exited the camp entrance and stayed away from the Owl Oak. They went to the Rock Clump and hunted there. Emberpaw learned the bird hunting crouch, the rabbit hunting crouch, although it was not necessary, but he asked. He even actually caught a rabbit, a very small one, of course. At the end of the day, they brought the fresh-kill back to the camp and waited until all the kits, elders, and queens were fed.

While they were eating fresh-kill, Redstar bounded up to the Rock Ledge and yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Rock Ledge for a Clan meeting."

As the last of the Clan cats went up, Redstar began, "Our Owl Oak patrol, as we will now call it, have patrolled the Owl Oak. They tell me the Twoleg monster is still there, although the mud beneath it is churned up, ruining the camp's supply of burdock root. So I must warn everyone to stay away from rats, or else an unnecessary death may occur."

Yowls of horror rose up from the crowd. Redstar waited for the cats to quiet down, and then he meowed, "The Clan is dismissed."

The cats padded away, and Emberpaw turned to Larksong. "Don't worry," Larksong mewed. "In leaf-bare, rats don't come that often," since it was the end of leaf-fall.

Emberpaw thought about it, then decided not to worry about it. He and Mistypaw finished their fresh-kill and padded back to the apprentice's den, shared tongues, and settled down to go to sleep. But Emberpaw couldn't go to sleep. After he was sure Mistypaw was asleep, he opened his eyes and sat up. He peered out the entrance, where the whole camp was asleep, and looked at the stars of Silverpelt.

"StarClan, if you are listening, please help our Clan survive."

Emberpaw was standing in a dark place. A glimpse of the sun caught his eye, and he saw the pelts of a gray cat and a brown she-cat. "Who are you?" he called out, but got no answer.

He tried to run toward them, but sharp brambles poked him in the hip. His eyes flew open, and he saw Mistypaw prodding his hip. "You've sleeping forever, Emberpaw!" she complained playfully. He got up and blinked groggily.

"Oh, Mistypaw," he mewed sleepily. He blinked in the harsh sunlight. "Sorry." The two cats got up and padded out the apprentice's den, where their mentors were waiting for them.


	4. Chapter 4

**In this chapter is Feathertail. Feathertail died, but she is in this chapter anyway so please excuse that. Special thanks to xXJayfeatherXx and ScourgexScarlet for R&Ring!**

Larksong and Mousepelt saw the two apprentices approaching. "Good morning," Larksong mewed.

"Hi, Larksong, Hi Mousepelt!" Mistypaw meowed excitedly.

"Hi," Emberpaw said rather quietly. The two mentors didn't seem to notice, and they all went hunting together.

"What do you smell?" Mousepelt asked quietly.

"The Thunderpath," Emberpaw said promptly.

"A vole," Mistypaw said hurriedly. She darted off and and came back with a vole in her mouth.

"Good job!" Mousepelt said. "I can see that your tracking skills have improved." Mistypaw's eyes gleamed. Emberpaw didn't notice. He felt too unsettled by that dream he had. Who were those cats?

"Emberpaw? Why don't you try hunting?" Larksong mewed. "Emberpaw? What's wrong?"

This snapped Emberpaw out of his trance. "Huh? Yeah. Nothing. Just wait." He sniffed and the scent of squirrel wafted up to his nose. He waited for the right moment, and pounced. He felt his jaws sink into flesh, and brought it up.

"Good job!" Larksong mewed. "Both of your skills have improved. Now let's bury these and hunt some more."

The four cats padded off. Suddenly Emberpaw stopped. Mistypaw bumped into his flank. "Ow, Emberpaw, what are you-" then she broke off after she saw what Emberpaw was seeing.

There was a huge Twoleg monster right in front of them, and it was heading straight towards them!

"Quick! Over here!" Mousepelt yowled, dashing over to a clump of bracken so it would hide them. They all leaped towards it and dove for cover.

The Twoleg truck stopped. It was exactly like the one Pearlclaw had described it. "C'mon, let's get back to camp," Larksong mewed.

Back at the ThunderClan camp, Sorreltail had just returned from border patrol and was eating her fresh-kill. "Sorreltail," Firestar said. "Cinderpelt says she saw you in a dream. Have you been having any dreams lately?"

Sorreltail stopped dead. "Uh-um, well...no. I mean yes. I mean, well, yes."

"What was it about? You don't have to tell me, though."

Sorreltail kept silent for a while. Then she took a deep breath. "Well, I was in a different forest, and a cat came to me and said, '_Thunder and River will come to Fire, and release it from the Dark Forest's grasp.'_"

"That's exactly what Cinderpelt told me!" Firestar exclaimed. "Perhaps..why don't you, me, and Cinderpelt talk together, alright? Come on." Sorreltail followed him to the medicine cat's den.

"Cinderpelt," Firestar called softly.

Leafpaw appeared at the entrance. "Cinderpelt? Oh, she's not here. She's out collecting herbs."

"Oh. Well, thanks for telling us, Leafpaw." Firestar signaled for Sorreltail to follow him into his den.

Once they were safely inside it, Firestar mewed, "I think you must go on a quest."

"But me?"

He nodded. "Doesn't StarClan always choose the strangest cats?"

"True. They chose you, a kittypet. But you were more of a warrior than a kittypet."

"We'll just have to wait for another sign."

"Right, yeah."

"I'll have Cinderpelt teach you as much as she can. Tomorrow, stay at camp and go to Cinderpelt's, so you'll have a lesser chance to get sick on the journey." Sorreltail knew at that point he wanted to say "die", but decided not to bring up the subject.

Stormfur wasn't having a great snooze. He kept looking out at the stars, and wondering why StarClan had sent him that dream. What was it? Was it a quest? All he knew was that thunder must be ThunderClan and river must have been RiverClan.

If it was a quest, though, some cat from ThunderClan and someone from RiverClan would go to fire? "But why me?" Stormfur complained. And why would they go to fire? Didn't all creatures fear fire? StarClan must have thought he was pretty brave to send him on a quest like this. "Well, I'm sorry, StarClan, you're wrong," Stormfur mewed.

"No we're not," a voice said behind him. Stormfur twisted around. Behind him was a bluish greyish cat.

"Bluestar!" he cried.

"Shh, my little one." Her slendy body was glowing and ghostlike. "You, Stormfur, are one of the two cats to go on the quest. I hope you understand that."

"But..." he sighed. "Who is the one from ThunderClan? Is it Sorreltail? Because she had the dream too."

"You'll just have to find out..." Bluestar mewed, and faded away.

"Wait! Tell me more!" Stormfur cried, but she was out of reach and gone. The first rays of light were seeping into the den.

"Stormfur, you've been yowling all night, what is wrong?" Feathertail complained beside him.

"Oh...nothing! Nothing." Stormfur felt troubled. _Why me? Why do I have to go on a quest? _

_"_Well you better get up quickly, because you're leading dawn patrol, remember?"

Stormfur nodded quickly, and said, "Right." He padded out the warriors den and waited for the rest of the patrol to come, Blackclaw, Voletooth, and Stonestream. "C'mon," he mewed.

As they marked the borders, Stonestream broke the silence. "I heard Mistystar is going to make Hawkfrost deputy."

"Really?" Blackclaw asked. "I mean, he is Tigerstar's son and all, but what if he follows the same path as him?"

"Hopefully that won't happen. He's pretty popular, right?" Voletooth mewed. "Right, Stormfur?"

Stormfur didn't answer. _But I don't want to go on a quest, _he thought. _Well, life goes on. I bet Sorreltail is the one from ThunderClan, but FireClan...they must live far away-_

"Stormfur? I asked you a question, Stormfur!"

"Oh! Um, yeah." The truth was, Stormfur had no idea what he was talking about.

"Hey, um," Voletooth's voice dropped to a whisper. "Stormfur, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing." Stormfur left it at that.

Finally, after a moment's hesitation, Voletooth dropped the subject. "Hey, Blackclaw, Stonestream, Stormfur, how about we hunt for a little while?"

Stormfur nodded in approval. "I am hungry," he admitted. The others agreed.

Stormfur pricked his ears, trying to forget the dream, and dropped into a low crouch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mouse nibbling on a seed. His tail swished back and forth, and then he pounced. He felt the satisfying crunch of bones. Voletooth had caught a squirrel and was sharing it with Stonestream. Blackclaw's gaze was still fixed on a vole.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello guys! Thanks for being patient because, as you have probably noticed it takes a long time for me to upload chapters. But luckily it's the weekend and I'll be able to upload more!**

"No," Redstar meowed quietly after he had heard the news. "At this rate, we'll have to move. Stupid Twolegs!"

Larksong dipped his head. "We'll be okay," but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than the leader.

Mistypaw and Emberpaw got themselves some fresh-kill. They both shared a squirrel. All of the sudden Poppypaw padded up to Emberpaw shyly.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi, Emberpaw," she replied timidly. "Um, do you mind if..."

"Sure," he replied abruptly. _She _is _pretty, _Emberpaw thought.

"I'm going to visit Grasspaw," Mistypaw mewed, as if she was jealous. She took a last bite out of the squirrel, and padded out.

Emberpaw looked into Poppypaw's eyes. Her blue eyes gazed back. Emberpaw felt sleepy. All of the sudden he drew his tongue over her ear. "I...I had a dream." He felt like he could trust her. "I didn't tell anyone."

"You-you want to tell me?" Poppypaw sounded nervous.

"Yeah." Emberpaw looked around, scanning the apprentice's den. Frostpaw was alone in the corner as always. Then his voice dropped to a whisper. "Well, I was in this dark forest. I didn't know where I was. Then this cat came to me. She told me her name was Fawnseeker and she was the previous leader of FireClan."

"The elders told me stories about her," Poppypaw mewed. "She was a hero. But shouldn't it be Fawnstar?"

Emberpaw had just noticed that. "I-I don't know.. Well, anyways, she told me, _Thunder and River will come to Fire, and release it from the Dark Forest's grasp." _

"I heard the Dark Forest was bad," Poppypaw remarked. "Where the bad cats go. And fire is the name of our Clan, FireClan! That should mean ThunderClan and RiverClan exist."

A click sounded in Emberpaw's mind. And the puzzle pieces came together. "Yes! It all makes sense!" he mewed, forgetting to be quiet. Frostpaw turned around.

"What makes sense?" she asked.

"Um..something," Emberpaw said. He turned back to Poppypaw, and said quietly, "ThunderClan and RiverClan will go to us, and help us because the Twolegs are taking over!"

"Yes!" Poppypaw agreed. "That's it! And then what happpened?"

"I woke up," he answered. "And it was really confusing until you told me." The two cats shared tongues for a while. Emberpaw waited until Poppypaw was asleep, but Mistypaw still hadn't come back.

Suddenly a vision came to his mind. Mistypaw was trying to fend off a fox with a frothing mouth. Her left ear was torn and she looked exhausted. Emberpaw felt a surge of protectiveness, and got up. Poppypaw sensed the movement and leaped to her feet. "What's wrong, Emberpaw?"

"Don't follow me," Emberpaw wanted to keep her safe. It would be his fault if she got badly injured. But Poppypaw didn't listen and bounded off after a running Emberpaw that was trying to find his sister.

Emberpaw paused and heard growls and whines, and scented the smell of blood, fox, and Mistypaw. Emberpaw dove through the bracken and saw the same thing that had happened in his mind-only worse. He caterwauled and leaped into the battle. Poppypaw followed him. She was surprisingly swift and fast, dodging every attack the fox did on her. Mistypaw was far worse, though. She was laying on her side, blood trickling out of her torn ear. She was hardly breathing.

Rage bolted through the black cat. He dodged a blow to his neck and left a deep scratch in the fox's belly. Then the fox looked behind him, and saw more attackers. A grown, female she-cat with a cat about Emberpaw's age leaped onto the fox and pinned him down. She was unfamiliar, but she chased off the fox easily.

"Thank you," Emberpaw breathed thankfully when she turned to them. He had a scratch on his shoulder.

She looked at him for a moment. "My name is Trill. And, you're welcome."

Poppypaw was looking at the younger cat. He was handsome with grey fur and amber eyes, just like his mother.

"That's Rain," Trill mewed. "C'mon," she suddenly looked tired and weary. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Emberpaw cried. "Can't we do something for you?"

She turned around. "Well...yes, I suppose you could.."

"What is it?"

Emberpaw whirled around. Redstar was behind him.

Trill looked taken aback from the new visitor. "My son needs a home," she explained.

Redstar purred. "Of course. You may have a home, too." He flicked his tail, not looking at the apprentices. "Follow."

Sorreltail was sleeping happily, dreaming of chasing a mouse and eating it. Then suddenly she had a sharp pain in her side. Her eyes flew open, and she saw Squirrelflight beside her. "Wake up," she said.

"What?"

"There's a fox in the den," she mewed urgently.

"What?" Sorreltail leaped to her paws. Squirellflight was right. There was a fox.

But in the warriors den? How could it have snuck in? Sorreltail gritted her teeth. Suddenly Squirrelflight leapt at the fox. Too late did she realize the fox was foaming around the mouth. That would make you very sick. "No, Squirrelflight!" Sorreltail yowled, waking up all the other warriors. Mousefur bit down hard on it's flank. But the fox could not be stopped that easily. A whole band of maybe six or seven of them rushed in, and Sorreltail heard cries of kits from the nursery. The whole camp was stirring. Sorreltail caught a glance outside and there were way more foxes than there were in the den.

Suddenly RiverClan scent reached her nose. A wave of RiverClan cats plunged into the den and scratched and bit the fox. But still, that wasn't enough. The first fox fell, but more foxes came. Sorreltail became aware of Stormfur's scent.

"Stormfur!" she yowled. Stormfur was nearby, battling another fox with a grey she-cat she didn't know. The fox fell and Stormfur rushed over to Sorreltail.

"Sorreltail, I need to tell you something," he mewed breathlessly.

"What?"

"A cat came to me. It was Bluestar, her ghost. She told me I had to go on a quest with someone from ThunderClan."

"She told me that too! Oh no, we have to go on a quest," Sorreltail meowed worriedly.

A bark from a fox behind her caught her attention. "Right!" She whirled around, but saw Squirrelflight dangling from the fox's jaws, scarcely breathing. She opened one eye weakly and muttered, "Good luck, Sorreltail."


	6. Chapter 6

Redstar led the cats back to the camp, carrying an unconscious Mistypaw. Trill looked around nervously, then muzzled her kit as if someone would steal it. "Alright, here we are," he mewed welcomingly. Dawn was just breaking out, and the first of cats were stirring. Moonflower was the first to come out.

"Don't worry, no one will hurt you," Emberpaw said, trying to comfort her.

But as soon as he said it, Moonflower saw her and hissed at her. "Redstar! What are you thinking, bringing a rogue into Clan territory?"

"Moonflower, you must treat her with respect," he answered coldly.

Trill dipped her head in respect. "My name is Trill."

Just then Larksong darted over. "Emberpaw! Where have you been? I've been scared to-oh..." He broke off as he saw Mistypaw dangling from Redstar's jaws. "What happened?"

Mousepelt came out, and saw her apprentice. "Mistypaw!" Then she rounded on Trill with a fierce snarl. "What did you do to her?"

"She did not do anything, Mousepelt," Redstar growled. Rain was pressing close to his mother, looking scared. "You must treat her with respect. Emberpaw, I believe you know the story."

He nodded, and told Mousepelt. "It was all my fault," he finished. "I think Mistypaw was jealous and ran away."

Mousepelt was speechless. Finally, she mewed, "What is StarClan doing to us?" She shook her head and padded away, head down, tail dragging on the floor.

Redstar dropped Mistypaw outside Leafflight's den, and told her about what had happened. Then he leaped onto the Rock Ledge, and yowled the usual summonings.

The cats of FireClan padded out their dens and sat down attentively. "We have a new cat. Her name is Trill, and she is a rogue." Some of the cats flinched when they heard this. "But even if she is a rogue, we must treat her with respect." He quickly told them the story.

Soon the cats were dismissed and Larksong padded over to Emberpaw. "I'm afraid you won't be able to train with your sister today."

Emberpaw became interested in his paws.

"C'mon," his voice was filled with grief. Larksong glanced at Emberpaw more closely. "Looks like you've been gone out all night," he remarked. "Do you want to take a break too?"

Emberpaw nodded, too tired to decline. He padded back to the apprentice's den and collapsed on his nest and fell asleep.

Sorreltail stared, horrified at the unconscious Squirrelflight. "No!" she yowled, and threw herself on top of the fox. Her fury gave her energy and the fox was up and running in no time.

"How did that get in here?" Dustpelt mewed incredously.

"StarClan knows," Rippletail said.

Sorreltail was staring at the limp Squirreltail on the ground. _What will Jaypaw, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw say? _She thought. She picked her up and carried her to Leafpool's den. Jaypaw was already awake.

"What happened?"

"A fox came in. They injured Squirrelflight." Sorreltail could imagine the alarm flashing in his eyes.

"I'll tend to her right away. Let's see, marigold for infection...cobweb to stop the bleeding..." Jaypaw hurried back to the medicine cats' den, and Leafpool came out.

"Need anything?" she asked. "I assume Jaypaw is already fetching it," she added with a twitch of her whiskers.

"Marigold and cobweb," Sorreltail mewed abruptly.

"Oh," she nodded. "Okay." She padded back in. Jaypaw came back out and put the chewed up marigold onto Squirrelflight's back.

"I'll take her in. And Firestar wants you for hunting patrol with Dustpelt, Lionpaw, and Brambleclaw." Jaypaw told her.

"Okay," Sorreltail agreed. She padded to the camp entrance, where the patrol was waiting for her. "Ready?" she asked.

They nodded, and Dustpelt led them out of camp.

The cats hunted for a while. Sorreltail caught a vole, a blackbird, and somehow a rabbit. Suddenly the reek of badger hit her nose. "Badger!" she gasped. The bushes beside her rustled, and what she had expected came out. A badger.

Trusting her instincts, Sorreltail lunged at it, caterwauling. She got a scrape down it's snout, but it retaliated with a blow to the ear. Dustpelt, Brambleclaw, and Lionpaw leaped out of the shadows. Seeing more enemies, the badger turned tail and fled. "Thanks, you guys," she said.

"We heard you," Lionpaw piped up.

"We should get back to camp," Brambleclaw said. "And tell this to Firestar. He needs to know about the badger."

The cats went back to camp, fresh kill in their mouths. It turned out Firestar already knew about the badger. Leafpool had told him from a dream she had.

It was good hunting. Since it was newleaf, the animals were getting back out of their burrows, and the fresh kill piles were heaping. Most of all, the frozen river had melted and the RiverClan cats could catch fish again. Stormfur woke up, feeling refreshed after a dreamless sleep. But he was not fully refreshed. The ghost cat, Bluestar, had told him about a quest.

"I don't want to go on a quest," he said.

"What's that?" Oakfur asked.

"Nothing."

"Then you better get up. Dawn patrol, remember?"

"Yeah," he said. He had made up his mind. Tell Mistystar.

He went to the leaders den. "Mistystar?" he called cautiously.

"Come in," mewed a voice.

"I-I have something to tell you," he said.

"What is it?"

"Well, the ghost of Bluestar came to me and said I was to go on a quest."

"Go on," she replied.

"I had another dream before that," he continued. "I was in a strange forest, and someone came to me and said, _Thunder and River will come to Fire, and release it from the Dark Forest's grasp."_

"Yes," she mewed. "Do you know anything else? Where to go, when to go?"

"No," he said.

"And who else is going?"

"Sorreltail, from ThunderClan."

"Alright. I will permit you to go, but first we have to wait for a sign for where to go," Mistystar told him.

Stormfur nodded, and padded out of the den. The dawn patrol had already left, he noted. So he decided to help out the medicine cats, Mothwing and Willowpaw. He padded in. "Could I help you?"

"Yes," Willowpaw said.

"You could help gather burdock root," Mothwing mewed from the back of the den. Suddenly Willowpaw froze.

"F-f-fox!" she stammered.


	7. Chapter 7

Stormfur spun around. "What?" Willowpaw's words were true. The fox bared it's teeth and snarled. Suddenly Voletooth darted in from behind and nipped the fox's leg. It turned around.

"We'll show you how strong we are!" Voletooth hissed, and lunged, claws unsheathed. Stormfur clawed the fox's back. Blackclaw joined in. Seeing more attackers, the fox darted off.

"What happened?" Mistystar padded up behind them.

"A fox came into the medicine cat's den," Stormfur explained breathlessly. "But we drove it out."

"Hmm," she mewed. "Stormfur, we need to talk more about..." she racked her brain for the right word. "_That." _She spun around, her tail beckoning Stormfur to follow.

Once they were safely inside the leader's den, Mistystar took a deep breath and said, "Well, I suppose...go to the ThunderClan camp and make sure you wait for an escort. Bring Sorreltail back to our camp and we'll have Mothwing prepare herbs for you."

"Now?"

"When you're ready."

Stormfur nodded in agreement. "Sunrise tomorrow." He left.

The next morning Stormfur gave a polite nod to Mistystar, and left the camp. He took the WindClan way, and when the sun was in the middle of the sky, he arrived at the ThunderClan camp's border.

It seemed to take forever for a patrol to appear. Finally, Berrynose, Hazeltail, and Squirrelflight came by.

"What do you want?" Berrynose asked, eyes flaring with hostility.

"Berrynose, it's just Stormfur," Squirrelflight mewed sharply.

"I would like to talk to Firestar," Stormfur meowed.

"Right. Come along," Squirrelflight said. She led him into the ThunderClan camp. "Firestar!" she called.

The orange cat padded out of his den. "Greetings, Stormfur. What has brought you here?" he asked warmly.

Stormfur dipped his head. "I had a dream."

"Sorreltail did too."

Hearing her name, Sorreltail padded to Firestar's side. "Yes? Do you need me?" she asked.

"Stormfur has come to talk to you," Firestar told her.

Sorreltail turned her head to look at the grey RiverClan cat. "Is this about the dream?" she queried.

He nodded. "Mistystar wants to bring you to our camp. We'll set out tomorrow. If you agree, of course."

Sorreltail turned to Firestar.

He nodded. "You may go. I suppose you will get a sign from StarClan."

"Thank you," she said, and padded off with Stormfur.

Sorreltail looked around at the bare WindClan territory. Suddenly she spotted a blackish brownish rock. But something was wrong.

It hit her. It was the direction of the shadow!

"Stormfur! Look! Look at the rock's shadow!" she cried.

"What?" He turned his head. The rock's shadow was pointing...east!

"We're supposed to travel that way!" Sorreltail exclaimed.

"That's it!" Stormfur mewed. "Great thinking, Sorreltail. C'mon. Let's hurry up and tell Mistystar."

Emberpaw woke up. The tang of Twoleg monsters hit his throat. He wrinkled his nose at the scent. "Yuck," he said. Poppypaw lifted her head beside him.

"What is that?" she mewed crossly. "Twoleg monster, huh?" She twitched her whiskers.

Emberpaw padded out the den. Larksong was waiting for him there. "I'm ready."

"The Twoleg monsters are getting close. We'll have to practice here," Larksong said. "But at least you'll be able to learn how to fight, because we're fighting here. Poppypaw and Pearlclaw are fighting with us, if you don't mind." He paused for a moment. "But even if you do mind, you'll still have to practice with them."

Emberpaw chuckled. He followed his mentor to a wide area in the camp, where Poppypaw and her mentor were waiting. "C'mon!" Poppypaw squeaked.

"We're coming, we're coming," Larksong mewed in reply. The two made their way to them and Larksong sat down. "Now, the first move we'll be learning is this. It's called the back kick. Judge your opponent's distance carefully, then lash out with your back legs, putting your weight on your front paws." He demonstrated. "Now you try."

Emberpaw tried to copy his mentor, but lost his balance and fell, kicking up dust. "Lemme try again," he insisted, hot with embarrassment. He lashed out with his back legs, trying to hit an invisible opponent.

"Almost perfect," Larksong said.

"Poppypaw, you try," Pearlclaw instructed.

Poppypaw tried it, and did it perfectly.

"Wonderful!" Pearlclaw mewed in delight. "Emberpaw, why don't you try it on her?"

He nodded. Poppypaw rounded on him. She pounced, but Emberpaw lashed out with his hind legs and kicked Poppypaw square in the face. She leaped back.

"Wonderful, Emberpaw!" Larksong congratulated.

"Now, our second move, the front paw blow. It's very simple," Pearlclaw said. Claws sheathed, she hit her apprentice down her head. "It's a lot more fierce than that, though," she told us.

"I want to try!" Poppypaw mewed excitedly, and brought her front paw down hard onto Emberpaw's head. But he was prepared and rolled to the side before she could hit him.

"Nice, Emberpaw!" Larksong told him.

"That's not fair!" Poppypaw squealed. She tried to swipe at Emberpaw, but missed as he lashed out with his hind legs.

"Oh-I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"No, it's okay," she said. "I don't want you going easy on me or I'll never get better!"

"Ok," he agreed, feeling relieved.

"That's all we'll learn today," Pearlclaw said. "We'll do a little more fighting and after that I'll tell you what to do."

"Sure," the apprentices agreed.

"Now, fight in one," Larksong said. "Two, three!"

Emberpaw pounced on Poppypaw, claws unsheathed. She rolled away but his weight was too much for her. She raked her claws down Emberpaw's belly and he jumped back in pain. Poppypaw advanced on him, but before Poppypaw could jump, Larksong yowled, "Thunderstorm!" There was a rumble as a flash of lightning streaked the sky. "It's right on top of us!" he added. "C'mon, that means twisters are near." He leaped away as the two apprentices tried to catch up.

"Save our souls!"


	8. Chapter 8

Stormfur and Sorreltail raced past the horseplace and into RiverClan territory. Stormfur led Sorreltail to the leader's den. The sun was setting. "Mistystar," he said breathlessly. "We found the sign."

"Which way?"

"East."

"Will you rest or go straight away?" she asked.

"Rest. How about you, Sorreltail?" Stormfur looked at his companion. Her eyes were drooping.

"Rest."

"Alright. C'mon. You can sleep over there," Stormfur said, pointing his muzzle under a tree. As Sorreltail walked there, many cats looked up.

"ThunderClan? What is ThunderClan doing here?" she heard one of them say. Sorreltail got under the protection of the tree and away from all those hostile stares.

"Phew," she muttered. She lay her head down on her paws and closed her eyes. Soon she was fast asleep.

"Hey, wake up! We're leaving!"

Sorreltail opened her eyes. The sun was barely visible. Stormfur was standing over her, nudging her awake. "This early?" she groaned. "Alright, fine," she mewed in defeat as Stormfur glared at her. She got up drowsily.

"I already have our herbs for not going hungry," he told her. A new smell, a sour, sharp one, hit her throat. It was the herbs. Stormfur lead the way. "Eat them," he mewed. They chomped up the yucky herbs. "I'll tell Mistystar we're leaving, stay here," Stormfur told her. He went to the entrance of the den.

"Hello?" he called.

"Come in," replied a voice.

"We're going now, just to let you know," Stormfur told Mistystar.

"Alright. Be safe."

"You will tell the camp, will you?"

"That is my choice, Stormfur. Go."

Stormfur was surprised. His leader never spoke to him like that. "Um, alright." He padded out the leader's den and by Sorreltail's side. "Ready?" he asked nervously.

"Ready," she replied steadily.

The two padded out of camp, towards the rising sun.

Sorreltail felt very nervous, and scented Stormfur's fear-scent coming off in big waves. "I understand," she said, trying to comfort him. "I'm a little nervous myself."

"What if we fail?" he wailed. "StarClan will be angry with us. They'll probably banish us."

Sorreltail mewed, "Don't think of the future. Think of the present. Are you hungry?" Without waiting for his answer, she continued, "Let's hunt."

"I'm too nervous to be hungry," Stormfur sighed.

"Alright," Sorreltail said. She tasted the air and found a scent of squirrel. It was a few pawsteps away, nibbling on a nut. She got down into a hunting crouch, and, using more scent and hearing than sight, she carefully gauged the precise distance between her and the prey. 6 pawsteps away. She slowly lifter her paws up, paw by paw, until she was only 3 pawsteps away. The mouse's ears perked up, but it was too late. Sorreltail pounced and killed it with a swift blow to the neck. She clamped it in her jaws, only to feel a wave of nausea sweep over her. She _was _nervous, she had just wiped away the feeling and pushed it to the back of her mind.  
>She sat down beside Stormfur and slowly took a bite. Sorreltail sighed. "I have to admit, I am very nervous too. Maybe even more than you are. I just wasn't before because I pushed it to the back of my mind. And forgot all about it. That's what you have to do, Stormfur. And remember, StarClan will always be with you."<p>

Stormfur relaxed at this. "Alright. I'll go hunt." He pushed himself up and padded away. Sorreltail was finished by the time Stormfur came back with a plump vole clamped in his jaws. "Thanks, Sorreltail."

Sorreltail smiled at him, and watched him eat. Soon they were finished, and the sun was barely up. "Let's go," Sorreltail meowed. They journeyed towards the sun.

_"Save our souls!"_

"Quick! Under here!" Larksong pointed his muzzle to an old yew tree. It was pouring heavily now, and thunder rolled in the clouds above.

"Is StarClan angry with us?"

"But why?"

The terrified wails rose around the camp. "Stay calm, everybody!" Emberpaw recognized Nighttrance's voice. She burst under their hiding place. "Don't hide under trees!" she yowled. "C'mon, to the dens!" She led them inside the apprentices den. "Stay there," she ordered.

Emberpaw and Poppypaw nodded. Pearlclaw asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Emberpaw answered.

"I'm not afraid of thunderstorms," Poppypaw mewed indignantly. But then the thunder boomed, and Poppypaw squeaked and hid behind her mentor, trembling.

"Seems like you've proved your point," Emberpaw muttered sarcastically. He sighed. "No more training, I guess."

"For today," Larksong reminded him. "I just hope we'll be able to train tommorrow."

"And all that fresh-kill is ruined," Pearlclaw added wistfully.

"I just care that the thunderstorm stops," Poppypaw whimpered.

Emberpaw dug his claws into the ground. "And get back to training," he added. "Oh, for StarClan's sake! Why does it have to be now!"

From the other side of the den, Frostpaw said, "I have to agree with you."

Pearlclaw turned to Larksong and they chattered quietly. "Have you heard the news? They say this is the time foxes will be around more often. With the foaming disease."

"Do they know about it?" Larksong asked.

"No. I'll go tell them." She turned to us. "Remember, in newleaf and greenleaf, stay away from foxes."

"Why?" Poppypaw asked.

"Because more of them have the foaming mouth disease," she explained. "The foaming mouth disease is very dangerous."

"Y-you mean that one right there?" Poppypaw asked. "Because it sure looks like it."


	9. Chapter 9

Emberpaw, Larksong, and Pearlclaw turned around in alarm. "What the-" Larksong began, but was cut off by Pearlclaw's caterwauling and launching herself at the intruder. "Right, don't be distracted." He turned to the apprentices. "Remember that. Now, don't come in the battle. We don't want anyone else getting hurt." Larksong gave Emberpaw a meaningful look as he said this, and he knew he had meant his sister, Mistypaw. Larksong launched himself into the battle as Frostpaw ran to Emberpaw's side.

"What will happen?" she asked worriedly. "What if they get hurt?"

Suddenly two more attackers-Emberpaw recognized them as Ashnose and Icewing-burst into the den and joined into the battle. Seeing more attackers, the fox yowled and ran away. Redstar came in. "What is with these foxes these days?" he muttered. "Are you okay?"

Larksong and Pearlclaw nodded. Pearlclaw turned to Ashnose and Icewing. "Thanks," she mewed. Ashnose nodded shyly at her. Then the two padded out.

"We'll have to tighten our security," Redstar told us. "A cat on guard at day and another at night. I'll have some cat do that." He padded away.

"You okay?" Pearlclaw turned to Frostpaw, who was sitting by Emberpaw, petrified. Rain bound in.

"Hello!" he mewed brightly. He seemed to be fitting in perfectly. "I heard something over here. What happened?"

"A fox came in," Emberpaw explained.

"Tomorrow's your apprentice ceremony, too," Larksong told him.

Rain looked excited. "I know! I can't wait!"

Emberpaw was excited, too. _We will make great friends! _He thought.

The next morning Redstar yowled the usual summonings. The cats mingled together. "Today we will apprentice a kit of Trill," he announced. Trill nudged her son forward, and Rain walked over, quivering with excitement. "Rain, until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Rainpaw. Icewing, you have learned well. I trust you to pass those skills onto Rainpaw." Mentor and apprentice both stepped forward to touch noses.

"Rainpaw! Rainpaw! Rainpaw!" Emberpaw chanted loudest of all.

Mistypaw was sitting in the back, gazing adoringly at Rainpaw. Emberpaw made her way over. "Are you okay? I mean, your back scratches?" he asked.

Mistypaw walked away.

Emberpaw stared after her, then hung his head. "What's the matter?" some cat asked.

Emberpaw recognized the scent of Larksong. "Nothing," he replied, then padded after his mentor.

"We're going on border patrol today," he told him, changing the subject. Bramblepelt was leading the patrol, and Skyfur, Frostpaw, and Moonflower were waiting for them there.

They padded out of camp, Frostpaw and Emberpaw were struggling to keep up. "I can't wait until I'm a warrior!" Frostpaw panted.

"I can," Emberpaw replied sharply. Then he felt guilty. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's just that I'm not that happy right now."

"Why?"

But before Emberpaw could answer, Moonflower mewed, "We're here!" They started to mark the borders.

"Sorreltail! Sorreltail! Wake up!"

The face of Stormfur came into view. "What?" Then she scented an unfamiliar smell. Intruders! She leapt to her paws. "Where?" Then she saw her. She was thin, thinner than the WindClan cats, and her pelt was as black as night.

But before they could attack, she meowed, "Wait! I come in peace. I would like to warn you, the dangers you will face, even StarClan cannot help you."

"Who are you?" Stormfur spat. "What do you want?"

She spoke calmly. "I am Pantherclaw. I was from ShadowClan, but...until they found out my secret..." she turned away. "But please, trust me."

"What secret?" Sorreltail asked.

"That I...killed the medicine cat."

"But...why?"

"She had an evil scheme," she explained. "Because she was a supporter of Tigerstar, she wanted to take over. But no cat knew that. They trusted her."

"So, you knew the evil scheme?" Stormfur queried. "How?"

"I was out hunting at night, and then I saw her. She was meeting up with Hawkfrost from RiverClan before he died. When Hawkfrost died, she was even more determined to take over. I was eavesdropping on her."

"What was her name?" Sorreltail asked.

"Nightfur," Pantherclaw answered. "But no more. You cannot rely on StarClan to help you finish this quest. I know you may want to, but you can't. They can't do anything."

Stormfur decided to trust her. It did seem logical, he thought. "Alright, thanks," he mewed. "Do you need anything?"

"I believe I could be a great help on your quest," she started nervously. "But you don't have to."

"Of course you can come with us!" Sorreltail exclaimed. "Right, Stormfur?"

Stormfur thought it was a good idea. "Sure," he told her. "We're going east."

She smiled at them. "Thanks."

Suddenly they spotted a thick, wide, river. It had no stepping stones or a tree-bridge like the one they had at home. There was no way across.

"What will we do?" Sorreltail asked in dismay.

"I can swim," Stormfur offered unhelpfully. "But you cats can't and I can't carry you across the river."

"We'll drown," Pantherclaw told them.

"Then what will we do?" Stormfur asked. No one answered for a long time.

"No one ever said the water was deep," Sorreltail suggested.

"But the current is too strong," Pantherclaw pointed out. "We can't just wade across."

Sorreltail grabbed a stick in her mouth and put it in the water to measure the depth. It hit the bottom instantly with a strange clinking sound.

"What was that?" Pantherclaw asked.

Stormfur put his paw underwater. Something smooth. "It feels..." he took his paw out. He sniffed it. "It's a Twoleg thing!" he exclaimed.


	10. Chapter 10

Stormfur worked his paws furiously until he felt the Twoleg thing move. Then he stuck his head underwater and grabbed it by the teeth. It was hard, but he managed to do it anyway. It was heavy, and when he brought it up Sorreltail and Pantherclaw had to help him put it on dry land. It was brown and at the top it was curved. The object was also lined with gold. It stank of Twolegs and was big enough to hold two of them.

"What is it?" Pantherclaw asked disgustedly.

"I don't know," Stormfur replied. They toyed around with it until suddenly, with a loud CRACK, the curved part swiveled off. Inside was hollow. But there was something in it. Pantherclaw turned it over and pawed it out.

"It reminds me of the Moonstone," Sorreltail mewed. It was shining, and really did look like the Moonstone.

"I think it is the Moonstone," Stormfur told them in awe.

"If it is then let's keep it," Pantherclaw suggested. "We can't just leave it out here."

"No," Stormfur declined. "We'll leave it somewhere safe. Hopefully it'll still be here when we come back."

If we come back, Sorreltail thought. "Alright," she decided. "C'mon, we can't waste time. Let's go."

"But how to cross the river?" Pantherclaw questioned.

"In the Twoleg thing," Stormfur said. "Since it doesn't have the Moonstone in it anymore, it'll probably be lighter. And I can swim." Without a moment's hesitation, he dove in the freezing cold waters. Suddenly they heard a yowling of help. Stormfur was flailing helplessly in the water, the currents too strong to swim in.

"We've got to help him!" Sorreltail cried.

"How? We can't swim!" Pantherclaw replied.

Sorreltail nudged the Twoleg thing into the water. "Stormfur, here!"

Stormfur caught hold of it and clambered in. "Thanks!" he called. Stormfur paddled back. "Here, one of you get in."

"After you," Pantherclaw said.

Sorreltail leaped in, making the Twoleg thing shake. "Alright," she mewed. "I'm ready."

"Here, a stick," Pantherclaw took one in her mouth and handed it over. "To paddle."

"Thanks," she answered. "But I don't think it will really help. I'll just use my paws."

Pantherclaw nodded.

Sorreltail was exhuasted by the time they reached the bank. "Here, I'll go back for you," Stormfur offered. Without waiting for a reply, he paddled off. Finally, all three of them were on the other side.

"Alright, let's go." Sorreltail led the way.

Suddenly the stink of Twolegs hit Stormfur's throat. He could tell the others had scented it, too.

"We'll have to go through it," he told them.

"Okay," Pantherclaw and Sorreltail agreed.

Once they were in the middle of the Twoleg place, a dog started barking not far off. "Oh no," Pantherclaw mewed.

"Better run," Sorreltail suggested. They broke into a fast sprint, and the dog sensed them running. Soon it was a few fox-lengths behind them.

"Come on!" Stormfur urged them.

The dog was gaining on them. Finally, a Twoleg yowled, and the dog stopped and walked away reluctantly.

"Phew," Sorreltail sighed. The three slowed down.

Soon, they could see the end of the Twoleg place. "We should hurry up," Sorreltail suggested.

They finally got to the end. Sorreltail sighed with relief. "I'm glad we're out of there."

Stormfur's stomach rumbled. "We should hunt first."

"Sure," Pantherclaw agreed. She immediately ran off and came back with a squirrel in her jaws.

"Already?" Sorreltail gaped in amazement. "Well, I guess it just comes in the blood." Stormfur had already gone off in search of prey. "I should be hunting, too," she told Pantherclaw. "I'll just be over there." She walked away and almost immediately spotted a blackbird. She lowered herself into a hunter's crouch and stealthily crept closer and closer...

There was a rustle of feathers, and Sorreltail walked away triumphantly, blackbird in her mouth.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Sorreltail spun around. Behind her was a ginger she-cat with yellow eyes staring at her. "Who are you?" she asked.

The ginger she-cat said, "My name is Leafflight, of FireClan."

"FireClan!" Sorreltail cried. "Wait here!" She ran back to her companions, who were just finishing up their prey. "Come over here, quick!" They followed Sorreltail back to the cat. "Do you know StarClan?" she asked Leafflight.

"Yes, of course," she replied. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I am Sorreltail," she told her breathlessly. "This is Stormfur, and this is Pantherclaw. I'm from ThunderClan, he's from RiverClan, and Pantherclaw is from ShadowClan."

"Is this what you've been looking for?" Pantherclaw asked.

"Yes," Stormfur replied.

"Were you sent by StarClan?" Leafflight prompted. When they nodded yes, she continued. "I don't know about that. Come." She turned tail and led them through the grasses.

They soon emerged into a camp. "Redstar!" Leafflight called. "Someone's here to see you." A reddish tom came out of a den.

"Who are you?" he asked when he was standing in front of them.

Sorreltail introduced themselves once again.

A black head poked out of a den. He looked like an apprentice. The cat stared at the newcomers as if he had expected them. "Who's that black apprentice over there?" Stormfur asked.

"Oh, that's Emberpaw," Leafflight said. "Don't pay him any attention."

"Stormfur and I had this dream," Sorreltail started. "It said-"

Emberpaw pricked his ears.

"_Thunder and Water will come to Fire, and release them from the Dark Forest's grasp."_


	11. Chapter 11

"What?" Emberpaw scurried over. "I had that same dream! I'm sure!"

Leafflight turned to look at Emberpaw. "Why didn't you tell us about it?"

"Because...because I knew you wouldn't believe me. I'm just a normal apprentice," he replied.

Leafflight sighed. "But do you know what it means?"

"She explained it to me."

"Who?"

"Fawnseeker."

"The previous leader?" When Emberpaw nodded, Leafflight continued. "Tell us."

"She told me ThunderClan and RiverClan were coming, but not that black one. And she said they were going to rescue us." Emberpaw licked his chest self-conciously.

"So you were expecting us!" Sorreltail cried. "But are you in danger or anything?" For the first time, she noticed the FireClan cats were unnaturally thin, and their pelts were ungroomed. A she-cat drowsily licked her kits. "What happened?"

"Looks like you cats are starving," Stormfur remarked.

"We are," Redstar spoke up sadly. He leaned close and told them," I lost a life from a Twoleg monster."

"Twolegs!" Pantherclaw cried. "Yes, that happened to us, too. We had to move."

Anger flared in Leafflight's eyes. "We will not move! This is where we have always lived, and this is where we will always live," she bristled with fury. "We will not be driven out by those mouse-brained Twolegs!"

Redstar placed his tail tip gently on her shoulder. "Leafflight," he said. The medicine cat quieted down. "We might have to," he told her. Leafflight made no response.

"We're going to help you, then," Sorreltail told them. "But I didn't notice any monsters when we were coming," she added.

"They're that way," Redstar pointed his muzzle to the other side. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Stormfur mewed. They ran off, in search of prey.

Sunrise by sunrise, FireClan grew stronger as the three newcomers trained the apprentices and pushed them to the limits. Stormfur was to mentor Emberpaw, Sorreltail to Mistypaw, and Pantherclaw to Frostpaw. Pearlclaw trained with them, so all the apprentices were being trained. The apprentices the newcomers had mentored, well, their mentors practiced fighting each other. By the end of three sunrises, the three were exhausted.

Twolegs stepped out of the monster. They meowed amongst each other, then took out a Twoleg thing. They hit it gently, and a loud sound came out of it. It started to shake. The Twolegs pressed it to the ground. Mud and dirt flew everywhere. Stormfur let out a growl of disgust and lashed his tail.

Sorreltail sighed. "Oh, for StarClan's sake!"

"Why'd we even come here?" Pantherclaw said, exasperated.

"You mean why did _you _even come here," Stormfur corrected her impatiently. "We were forced to come here."

Pantherclaw ignored his rudeness. She thought for a moment. "I think I'll join this Clan. I'm Clanless, anyway."

"Why?" Sorreltail asked.

"None of the other Clans back in the forest respect me," she answered. "And they would really need my help."

Sorreltail and Stormfur thought this over for a moment. "That's a great idea," Sorreltail mewed at last. Stormfur said nothing.

Pantherclaw rushed away. "I'll be back," she told them.

The Twolegs finished doing their Twoleg work. They went back onto the monster and got out some kind of string-like thing. Stormfur closed his eyes. This was torture. "Mouse-brained Twolegs," he muttered. "What are they trying to do? What did we ever do to them?"

Pantherclaw rushed back. "They accepted," she told them. "I'll be one of their warriors. But.." she added uncertainly. "Something bad has happened at camp." When both Stormfur and Sorreltail looked at her with interest, she continued. "Moonflower has died." She paused for a moment. "Barknose, her mate, was shocked. He's petrified. I think he's going to die. He won't move, just sleep." Her heart was beating rapidly now. "Because she was run over by a monster. Leafflight's tending to her mate now. She says he'll be okay, he just needs some poppy seeds. Whatever those are for."

"For relief," Sorreltail told her. "This is bad news. How could they! Those mouse-brained Twolegs!" She sat down, and remembered how nice Moonflower had been through her stay. Flashbacks started.

_"Here, I'll get some fresh-kill for you, Sorreltail. We can share together."_

_"This is how you hunt fast things," _Sorreltail remembered her friendly smile. No wonder Barknose had fallen for her.

_"Look out! Monster coming!" _

Emberpaw looked down at the limp body, smelling of lavender and rosemary. But even that couldn't mask the smell of death. This was the medicine cat's mother. Moonflower was so nice, so helpful, but StarClan just let her die, just like that. _She died, she died. _The words echoed in her mind.

"I know. She was popular, in all Clans."

Emberpaw looked sideways. It was Mistypaw! "I know," he said wistfully. "All the good cats die."

Mistypaw took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry, Emberpaw. I guess I didn't want you to get a... close friend yet." She paused. "I was jealous," she mewed, barely audible.

"It's alright," Emberpaw replied. They both sat in silence, staring down at the dead she-cat._ She died, she died. She's dead._

"Emberpaw, StarClan is the best place a cat can be. Don't be sad."

Emberpaw looked up. It was the elder, Goldenstorm. "I know," he replied. "I know." _She's dead, but in StarClan...StarClan...StarClan...And StarClan is the best place for a cat to be... _

The moon rose high into the sky, and the two siblings went to their dens and fell asleep. And Emberpaw had a dream.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry I haven't been updating recently it's just that I'm on a writers block so I'll probably update a lot more slower.**

A twig snapped. Ever so slowly, Emberpaw turned his head, not knowing what he would face. Then, he saw a ghostly figure. "Emberpaw," it said. "Emberpaw."

"W-Who are you?" he stammered. But when he looked closer, he saw that it was Moonflower. "Moonflower!" he cried.

"These newcomers have troubles of their own. Warn them. Something terrible is happening back at their camp. There will be a fire, and there is only one who can stop it."

"Who?"

"A cat from WindClan, named Heatherpaw. But it may be hard to convince them. Now, wake up!"

"Ouch! Stop that, Emberpaw! Ugh! You just woke me up from a dream! I was chasing a mouse and I almost got it-" he felt a playful cuff around his ear. He opened his eyes. It was Mistypaw.

"Sorry," he moaned. He stood up and went out of the den.

"Where are you going, Emberpaw?" she asked. Emberpaw didn't answer.

He padded to the camp entrance. There was Sorreltail. She flicked her ears when Emberpaw approached. "What's wrong?" she asked in a low mew.

Emberpaw wondered if this was the right time to tell her or not. He hesitated. "I had dream,"finally announced.

"What?"

"Would you believe me?"

"Of course I would, if it was sent by StarClan."

"There will be a fire at your camp, and only one cat can stop it."

"Who?"

"Heatherpaw. Do you know Heatherpaw?"

"Yes, from WindClan? I've seen her at Gatherings."

"Do you believe it?"

"She's Crowfeather's daughter." Sorreltail seemed caught up in her own world.

"What about that?" Emberpaw asked, not bothering to ask who in the world was Crowfeather.

"Is it a tradition? Maybe it has something to do with Nightcloud..." But Sorreltail didn't see why she should believe him. Emberpaw was just a normal apprentice, but then again...She considered the thought. She decided to think about it later. "Okay," she mewed. "But first go back to sleep. I need toconcentrate on guarding the entrance." She stopped. "In fact, I think I see something..." Sorreltail wasn't lying, though. There was a shadowy figure standing in the distance. It suddenly dove into a bush.

Then suddenly there was a CRACK! A Twoleg monster was heading straight towards them. Redstar lept out of his den. "What's happening?" he cried. Then he spotted the monster. "Oh, StarClan!" he yowled. Heyowled again, and this time it was a commanding yowl. All the cats of FireClan crawled out of their dens, took one look at the monster, then glanced at the leader with terrified eyes, saying, _What do we do_ _now? _Redstar mewed, "Go!" He turned his head the other way.

The cats ran, all but Emberpaw. Poppypaw noticed Emberpaw, and went back. "What are you doing, Emberpaw?" she mewed in distress. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

Emberpaw unsheathed his claws. "As long as it's to die for my Clan," he replied steadily.

Poppypaw looked like she was about to leave, but she swallowed her fears and stood by him. "If you're ready, I'm ready."

The monster was getting closer. It was going so fast, but Redstar's anger had awakened. Sorreltail had rushed over to the apprentices, telling them to run away. But, of course, they did not listen. Redstar was standing directly in front of the monster, then suddenly he raked his claw onto its muzzle. The monster kept going, though.

Soon, the monster ran over the leader, and there was a tiny crack that no one but StarClan could hear, and the monster carelessly kept going. They rushed over to Redstar. "Redstar!" Emberpaw cried. But the Clan leader lay motionless.

"The monster crushed all his lives," a voice said from behind them.

They turned around. It was Leafflight, the medicine cat. She dipped her head. "I am sorry."

Sorreltail glanced at the leader again. "We cannot bring him. Instead, let's bury him, right here." The others agreed quickly.

Soon they were done, and they raced to catch up to the other cats. Birchnose was the first to see them. "Emberpaw!" she cried. "Where were you? I was worried sick!"

A loud mew topped the other voices. It was Leafflight. "I am sorry to say, that our leader, Redstar, has had all his lives taken away from him from a Twoleg monster." Mews rippled through the crowd. "Nighttrance will be our new leader."

Nighttrance stepped up. "Hello, Clan," she mewed. "I am your new leader, and I want to promise to you that I will be a good, wise leader to the Clan. I promise." She spoke with such sincerity every cat believed her. "And now, I will appoint a new deputy. It will be Ashnose."

Emberpaw's ears perked up. His father was going to become deputy! He was proud of his father. He was a great warrior, and popular.

The cats agreed. Most of them were happy with this choice. They cheered loudly. Sorreltail smiled.

"Now, though, the Twolegs are taking over. We must move. You saw what happened to Redstar." He paused. "Okay, maybe you didn't." A few cats chuckled at this joke. "But, Redstar is gone, because of a Twoleg monster. We can't fight those. So, in conclusion, we must move."

There was an eerie silence. But no one denied. They all had no choice.

"Where will we go?" one asked.

"StarClan will send us a sign," Nighttrance reassured them. "Don't worry."


	13. Chapter 13

Life wasn't going on as usual in FireClan. The cats went to sleep hungry each night, in strange territory. StarClan had not sent them a sign, and the monsters were moving closer each day, so they decided to move on. Most cats were to shocked about the leader's sudden death to do anything. No matter how many poppy seeds Leafflight and Grasspaw fed them, they were still petrified.

At least Nighttrance was getting used to it. Redstar had become leader when it was very peaceful, so he fitted right in. But Nighttrance was stuck in the middle of a problem, one who's solution was beyond reach. For him, anyways. Sorreltail felt bad for him.

"Hey, Nighttrance, need some help?" Sorreltail asked.

He looked grateful. "Sure, thanks. Could you help us hunt for fresh-kill?"

Sorreltail nodded. "Anything." She padded away to the camp entrance.

Soon they got to a barren, cold land that suited FireClan perfectly. "Is this where StarClan destined for us to be?" Ashnose asked the leader.

Nighttrance looked over the land carefully. Finally, with all the Clan cat's eyes staring up at him, he nodded. "Yes. It's perfect."

And just as that moment, Emberpaw spotted a rock with a star carved onto it. "Look, everyone, look!" he cried. "We really are destined to be here!"

Sorreltail, Stormfur, and Pantherclaw smiled. Their mission was completed. "Well," Pantherclaw mewed, "I'll be here, always. Come back anytime." With that, Pantherclaw padded off.

Emberpaw bounced up toward them. "Thanks," he told them. "I really appreciate it. Without you we would have died."

"You're welcome," Stormfur replied politely. "And now it's time for us to leave."

Emberpaw looked as though he was going to miss them. "I wish you didn't have to," he mewed. "But I understand that you have your family back at your territory." And the fire, he added mentally. But didn't say that out loud. Instead he touched noses with both of them.

The camp soon gave Sorreltail and Stormfur a big farewell. Then they set off.

"You know," said Sorreltail, remembering something Emberpaw once told her, "Emberpaw told me that he had a dream. But I doubt it's true. I mean, he is a normal apprentice, right?"

Stormfur hesitated. "Firestar had dreams when he was an apprentice," he offered. "And Emberpaw also knew about the prophecy, so..." he trailed off.

Sorreltail considered this. "I guess," she admitted. "He said there was going to be a fire at camp and only Heatherpaw can stop it."

"Heatherpaw? Crowfeather's daughter?" Stormfur asked incredulously.

Sorreltail nodded. "Although I have no idea just keeps everything a secret. Sometimes I wish they wouldn't do that."

"That would take all the fun out of life," Stormfur pointed out.

In her opinion, Sorreltail thought an easy life was much better. But she didn't say that. "I guess," she mewed. She missed Pantherclaw.

Soon, they spotted the Twoleg place looming in front of them. They hunted to satisfy themselves, and ran like wildcats through it. They slowed down when they reached an empty place.

There was a snap. Stormfur's head whipped around. There was a rat. "Sorreltail," he mewed.

Sorreltail looked at him, then at the rat. "I know. I saw one too."

"This place is dangerous. Let's go!" But before the two cats could escape, rats from all directions blocked the way out. Ten rats leaped on Sorreltail, and about twice as many on Stormfur. They fought long and hard. Sorreltail slashed at them, but there were so much more.

Emberpaw felt as if teeth were nibbling into his fur. He squirmed in his sleep. Burdock, burdock. Burdock, he thought, over and over again.

Stormfur lashed out blindly. Suddenly all the rats stopped. And ran. He collapsed. Sorreltail rushed to the side, limping. She found some burdock root, chewed some up, and rubbed it over Stormfur. Stormfur did the same to Sorreltail. They rested.

The next day, the rat bites started to heal. But there were still faint marks of red on their fur. "I'll grab some burdock and we'll set off," Sorreltail told him.

They soon reached a river, the same one where they had found the Moonstone. The Twoleg thing was still there. Stormfur and Sorreltail climbed in. Sorreltail tucked the burdock root in, and they sailed across the river.

"I want to see if the Moonstone is still there," Stormfur mewed. He dug around. Soon, he exclaimed, "Found it!" He pawed over a shiny rock. Sorreltail looked at it.

"We better bring it back to camp," Sorreltail mewed. Soon, the ThunderClan camp drifted into view.

"We're home," Stormfur mewed wistfully. He broke into a fast run.

Firestar was the first one to spot them. "Stormfur and Sorreltail are back!" he announced. He padded over to greet them. "How was it?"

"Fine," Sorreltail told him.

Then he noticed the rat bites. "What happened?"

"Rats attacked us," Stormfur informed him.

"You better see Leafpool."

As they walked through camp, lots of cats greeted them. Squirrelflight bounded up to Sorreltail and had a happy reunion. It was a very hot greenleaf day.

Suddenly the smell of smoke hit Stormfur's throat. "Fire!" he mewed in distress.

**Sorry for the late update! And it's a little short. Anyways, I'm going to be very busy so I won't update for a while.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Everyone, escape to WindClan!"

Firestar ran around camp, rounding up all the cats, and stayed behind with the elders. They ran, and even the elders ran, faster than usual. The cats leapt over the river and broke into the WindClan camp, screeching, "Fire!"

Heatherpaw looked up, hearing the alarm. Fire? She thought. Then she looked beyond, and saw the great flames roaring above the trees, and her mind stopped working. There was a fire, long ago, ack in the old camp. She had heard the tale from the elders countless times.

Then, she saw Lionpaw. Her eyes narrowed. She was _not _going to save him, in fact, she was going to leave him into the fire, for he had almost killed her father, Crowfeather.

Maybe she could kill him.

But as soon as the thought drifted into her head, she whisked it away, knowing it was against the warrior code. But she could harm him enough so that he would learn his lesson.

Lionpaw was nearby, running for his life. He spotted Heatherpaw and ran even faster. Heatherpaw broke into a fast run, gaining upon Lionpaw. She was a fast runner. As soon as she caught up to him, she rounded in front of him, blocking his path. Snarling, she raked her claws across his muzzle.

Lionpaw was started. He pounced on her, not knowing the fire was just pawlengths away. They tussled around, until Heatherpaw slipped out, under him, and saw the fire. She couldn't just let him die.

"No!"

She ran into the fire, praying to StarClan. I'll die for a good cause, she thought. Surprisingly, the fire didn't really hurt. Then, the flames around her died down. She was unhurt. "What?" she muttered. She bounded out the fire, now smoking ashes, to face the other cats.

Lionpaw's eyes were huge. Everyone's were.

"What-Heatherpaw?" he stuttered.

"He was right," Sorreltail mewed. "That cat really is special."

Heatherpaw wanted to ask what she meant, but she was being congratulated, not very enthusiastically, as if the other cats were scared of her.

She did hear the prophecy, about fire, thunder, and river. Sorreltail and Stormfur had went on the quest for it. But there was no prophecy that someone was going to save them from this. Or maybe there was...

After the congratulations died down, she went over to Sorreltail and asked her about the fire. "So, who was right? Who's a special cat?"

"Well," she explained. "I met an apprentice while we were at FireClan's territory, named Emberpaw. He said he knew about the prophecy of why we came here. Then he told me there was going to be a fire at our camp, and only you could save us. I didn't believe it at first, but now I see."

"Oh," Heatherpaw answered.

She watched Firestar make an apology to Onestar for the trouble ThunderClan had caused. He accepted it reluctantly, then the ThunderClan cats slowly, but relieved, made their way out of the camp.

Sorreltail smelled a tiny, barely scented flame. But she ignored it. It was probably the remains of the fire. She made her way back to camp, feeling scared but relieved.

When they got back to camp, most of it was scorched. The nursery had fallen down and the yew tree by the warriors den was burnt. The medicine cat supplies were mostly burnt too.

But then, there came mews of distress from the WindClan camp. There was another fire! Luckily, it was quickly stopped by, well, Heatherpaw, Sorreltail thought. Leafpool and Jayfeather were gone, collecting herbs.

Now, Sorreltail and Stormfur had done their job, and life was going to be normal again.


End file.
